Journey Through Hell, Part 2
by Sorciere
Summary: Directly continued from part 1. Epilogue and author's notes have been uploaded.
1. The Art of War

A/N 1: [insert very long, very boring definition of 'stuff', ranging from plotbunnies to flames] can be send to hack_heaven@usa.net. Yes, that's an e-mail address. No, I don't bite ^^

A/N 2: Look! Part 2! And here's hoping there won't be a part 3. I need a life -.-

SilentPegasus: Thank you ^^ And yeah, most of the chapter titles *are* meant to have a lot read into them, the last one included. There are a few exceptions, but most of them...yeah ;)

Maxwell Dark: 'Irrational' could be Jordane's middle name...

Tiger5913: *grins* True. *amused* They do seem to sleep around a lot. 

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Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy

***

Chapter Eighty-Two: The Art of War

***

"Well?"

Hal tensed slightly at the voice, recognizing it instantly, and she turned around almost reluctantly to face Ryan. She liked the guy, she really did, but she knew what he was asking, and she didn't want to deal with, not now. 

"Well what?" she asked with deliberate casualness, buying herself a few more moments to gather her thoughts.

"Are we going to continue this truce?" Ryan asked, making a vague gesture. "If we're going to work together, we'll have to start planning today. It's only a matter of time before the police finds us." 

His voice was calm and steady, but his expression revealed the stress he felt, and Hal knew that he was under just as much pressure as she was - and more, probably. Having the two teams under one roof was bad enough since tensions were unavoidable, and Jordane's situation had only made things worse. Just like Hal herself, her teammates were stressed and worried, and that worry had affected the Guardians as well. And know she'd have to deal with this, too.

"I'll have to ask Blade about that. It's not my decision," Hal replied. It wasn't true, but it didn't matter - currently, she was unofficially in control, but this way made it easier to deal with. Saying that she had to clear it with Blade first would buy her some extra time to think her decisions through, and that was something she needed.

"Yes, it is, Hal, and we both know it," Ryan corrected her quietly. "Nike is dead, Jordane is sick, and Blade is too busy worrying about her to care about the rest of you. The team is your responsibility now."

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Unless, of course, he's smarter than he lets on, Hal realized with a sigh, knowing that he'd seen straight through her lie. She wasn't afraid of the responsibly - the past week had cured her of that - but that didn't mean she had to like the situation. Technically, Blade was in charge, and technically, Jordane was still second in command. Nobody had told her to take charge instead of them, but...what other option did she have? Ryan was right - Blade's concern was Jordane, and not the rest of them. If she didn't do something, who else would?

"Well?" Ryan repeated, and Hal sighed, silently admitting to both of them that the decision was hers to make.

"Let's continue things this way - working together should give us a better chance of getting away safely," she replied. "If anything happens, we'll have the benefit of numbers."

Ryan nodded, having already anticipated her answer. Everything considered, it had been the only logical decision. "I agree. Splitting up now would only makes us vulnerable, especially since they're already looking for us."

Hal didn't reply, but she didn't need to. They'd all seen the newspapers, seen the very clear and very detailed images of them. It was no longer a matter of if they'd be found, it was a matter of when. 

"We should head south," Ryan continued. "Cross the border in one of the less populated areas."

"But we still have to get out of town first," Hal pointed out. "And with the cops, and FoHs, and just about everybody else looking for us, that won't be easy. All it takes is just one person to recognize us, and we're screwed."

"I know," Ryan admitted. "But if we stay out of sight, we should have a chance of getting out unseen."

"Yes, a *chance*," Hal repeated. "That doesn't mean it's going to go perfect. And if we get spotted by the cops, we're in trouble. Zach's still exhausted - it's going to take at least another day before he's back to normal. Pheonix won't have much water to work with here, and the rest of us only have short-range powers. And as far as I can see, your side isn't doing much better."

"Then we'll wait a day," Ryan replied with a shrug. "That way we'll have a better chance of handling it if something goes wrong." He sent Hal a pointed look before continuing. "I'm not stupid - I know that getting out of here will be dangerous, but right now, there's nothing we can do about it. If something goes wrong, we'll deal with it when it shows up."

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Right. Hal nodded, reluctantly admitting to herself that he was right. Worrying now wouldn't help on anything, other than make them even more edge than they already were. The best option would be to stay for another day, and then leave - sure, there was always the risk that some other motel guest would recognize them and call the police, but it was a better option than trying to get away when half of them were more or less drained.

And Jordane needed the rest, too, Hal knew that as well. Physically, she'd be able to deal with the trip, otherwise Blade wouldn't have let her leave the hospital. But mentally? Hal had known Jordane for years, and what she saw now downright scared her. Jordane wasn't supposed to act like she did now - she never let anyone see her weaknesses, and to see her do this now was more than a bit worrying. Maybe another day wouldn't make much of a difference when it came to Jordane, but at least there was a chance. 

"Then it's settled - we leave tomorrow," Ryan concluded, and Hal nodded absently, still caught up in her thoughts. "Oh - and one more thing..." Hal looked up at his voice, and Ryan waited a moment before continuing. "Nike is back. Jhonen's been talking to her since she died."

"What?" Hal's voice was low, disbelieving, but even as her mind tried to dismiss his words, the more rational part of her had to wonder how she could have missed it. Jhonen talked to spirits - what could be more natural to him than to talk with the woman he'd cared so deeply about?

"Suzuka told me. She saw Nike speak through Jhonen this morning," Ryan explained quietly. "Since I doubt Jhonen wants to tell anyone, I decided to do it. I figured you deserved to know."

For a long moment it was silent as Hal tried to come to terms with Ryan's words, then she nodded slowly. "Thank you," she said, somehow managing to keep the shock out of her voice. "I'll...I'll have a talk with him."

Ryan smiled faintly. "You're welcome. I'm not his teammate anymore, but I still worry about him. He's a good kid," he added quietly. And he was, wasn't he? As far as Ryan was concerned, Jhonen's only crime had been being too young and naïve to see through Blade and Nike's deception. He couldn't be blamed for what had happened, not with those two around to twist his mind.

"He is," Hal agreed, her voice just as quiet as Ryan's had been, already wondering what to say to Jhonen. She worried about him, too, and the knowledge that the boy she'd come to like and respect had someone like Laetitia in his head...it didn't sit well with her. 

"I'll let my team know what we've decided, then," Ryan said, already heading towards to door, to the rooms where the others were. "We'll sort out the details later."

Hal just nodded absently, not really registering the words, her mind already on the situation with Jhonen.

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Laetitia? Shit...

***

It was strangely silent, the sound of the cars outside only a dull hum in his ears, barely worth noticing. Even the footsteps outside the room as the one of the others walked by was dismissed as insignificant, his complete attention focused on the sleeping girl on the bed. Beneath the angry attitude, she'd always been fragile, mere words sometimes enough to make her self-destructive tendencies resurface. She had been mentally unstable before, and with something like this to push her even closer to her breaking point...

Blade sighed and reached out, his hand brushing lightly against her cheek, her skin warm and far paler than healthy was. According to the doctor, her current paleness was a result of the last remains of the poisoning, combined with morning sickness, and the only real cure for that was waiting. Waiting and hoping that her body would be completely clear of the poisoning soon, even if that was the least of their problems. 

She'd been asleep almost since they got back, her mental and physical fatigue having caught up with her, and some part of Blade couldn't help but be thankful for that. As long as she was asleep, he wouldn't have to worry about what she might do to deal with this situation, and he would get the chance to consider what to do next.

Because something had to be done, that much was certain. He knew Jordane, and he wasn't stupid - if she was allowed to sink into depression, it would only be a matter of time before she would try to kill herself, and he would not allow that to happen.

But what could be done? Much as he hated to admit his helplessness in this situation, he knew that there was very little he or anyone else could do for her. The doctor had, understandably, suggested an abortion, but as far as Blade was concerned, that was out of the question. He knew his Queen, knew how she thought and reacted, and going through something like that would only make her sink deeper into depression. 

Doing nothing was out of the question, too. He held no delusions - he knew that if he let her go through with the pregnancy, the child would die, which was just as likely to drive Jordane to suicide as an abortion was. 

And that left...what option? A healer? Perhaps...a strong healer might be able to reverse the damage done to the child, yes, especially this early, but healers weren't exactly easy to track down. Asking for Sergey's help would be the fastest way to find one, but after the price Blade had been forced to agree to last time he'd been in that situation, he wasn't about to use that option unless he had no other choice.

But he didn't have many other options. Healers were hard to find, and finding one here in an area he didn't know would be impossible, unless...

Blade looked up sharply, his eyes finding the door, murmured words from one of the other rooms just barely audible through the noise from the street outside, his mind catching up with the train of thoughts. He wouldn't have to track down a healer - there was already one within reach, and a strong one at that. 

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And all he will need is a little convincing.

***


	2. For the Sake of the Children

A/N 1: [insert very long, very boring definition of 'stuff', ranging from plotbunnies to flames] can be send to hack_heaven@usa.net. Yes, that's an e-mail address. No, I don't bite ^^

A/N 2: Alikat: *amused* I'm a writer - I'm supposed to be unpredictable ^^

Tiger5913: *grins* How could I possibly forget about them? Don't worry, we're shifting back to them now ;)

Rascal: 'In Noctem' means 'into the darkness', if I remember correctly. Hey, I haven't had Latin since the 9th grade...^^

Ageless: Oh, they like Lae - well, Pheonix and Jhonen do, anyway ;) - but Hal also knows that having her in Jhonen's head is bound to cause trouble. This *is* Lae we're talking about, after all ^^. *grins* And I'm afraid your showcase is gonna be over relatively soon...if I don't go nuts before then -.-

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Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy

***

Chapter Eighty-Three: For the Sake of the Children

***

Seen in retrospect, he should have expected it. Seen in retrospect it had been the only logical thing to do, and seen in retrospect, Ben had no idea of how he could have missed that. 

He'd never been social by nature, not even around his friends, and being stuck in a motel with this many people didn't help on it, either. Hoping to get a small break, he'd found a secluded corner of the otherwise empty garden behind the motel, the cool shadows from the surrounding trees soothing heated skin. He'd sat there and enjoyed the solitude, for once not surrounded by constant talking and the tension that was inevitable in their current situation, when he'd heard the muted sound of footsteps in the dry grass. He looked up, expecting to find Ryan or Kyle standing there, but instead found himself looking up in a pair of pale eyes. Ben tensed, his body instinctively preparing for a fight, but Blade remained a few feet away from Ben, watching the boy closely.

"What do you want?" Ben demanded, suspicion clear in his voice as he watched Blade warily, half-expecting the man to attack him. The only reaction he got, though, was a faint smirk, dark amusement shining though.

"That should be pretty obvious, shouldn't it?"

"Jordane," Ben whispered, nodding slowly as he realized what was going on, silently cursing himself for picking a spot away from the motel. He should have seen this coming. 

"Very good." Another faint smirk, and Ben found himself growing increasingly nervous. He didn't like the situation one bit, but it was also pretty obvious that Blade wasn't about to let him leave. For a moment Ben considered calling out for Ryan - if he focused his thoughts enough, the other should be able to hear him - but decided against it, at least for the time being. Bringing Ryan into this would endanger him as well, and Ben didn't want that. 

"I'm not sure that I can help her," Ben began, bending the truth just a little. No, he didn't enjoy seeing Jordane sick, but healing her would hurt him as well. Besides...she'd been allowed to leave the hospital. That wouldn't have happened if it had been serious. She would survive without his help. "I'm not really that strong, and-"

Blade sent him a dark look, anger clear in his eyes. "Yes, you are. You healed Ryan's cyanide poisoning, we both know that. You're going to help me whether you want to or not, so let's just do this the nice, civilized way and save ourselves a whole lot of trouble."

Ben got up, still keeping a wary eye on Blade. "You can't hurt me - you need me to heal Jordane. Besides, if you try anything, I'll call for Ryan, and the others will be here within thirty seconds."

"Who said anything about hurting you?" Blade asked, taking a step closer, making Ben back away to keep his distance. "I can make your life a living hell without ever laying a hand on you. Now be a good little mutant and go heal Jordane, before I feel forced to drag one of your teammates into this."

Ben's head snapped up at the words, and Blade sent him a cold smile. "No, I can't hurt you, but I *can* hurt Ryan, or Suzuka, or Deirdre. All it takes is two seconds to put a bullet in one of them." He raised an eyebrow, his eyes never leaving the boy. "Do we have a deal?"

Ben sighed. He wanted to believe that Blade wasn't serious, that Ryan and the others would still be safe even if he said no, but knew he was just deluding himself. This was no empty threat, they both knew that. A long moment of uncomfortable silence passed, then Ben moved slightly, uneasily before replying. "All right...I'll do it. On one condition."

Blade raised an eyebrow, vague amusement in his eyes at the fact that Ben had actually dared to demand something in return. "And what would that be?"

"Leave Ryan alone," Ben replied, his voice serious, leaving no doubts that he meant every word. "He's a good guy - he doesn't deserve what you've put him through. Leave Ryan alone, and I'll do whatever it takes to heal Jordane."

Blade watched him for a moment, amusement replaced with a slight frown as he considered the offer. He would be able to get Ben's cooperation without agreeing to his, he knew that, but still...it would take time, and time was not something that was on his side at the moment. Allowing Ben to get away with this would be considerably faster...even if it did mean having to leave Ryan alone. He considered the situation for a moment, then nodded, making his decision. "Deal."

Ben let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and nodded, taking a moment to gather his thoughts again. "Good." He paused, then looked up, a bit hesitant. "What's really wrong with her?" he asked. He wasn't stupid - if Jordane had only been suffering from poisoning, Blade wouldn't have reacted this way. And to heal her, Ben had to know what was going on.

Another hint of dark amusement crossed Blade's features. "She's pregnant."

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Pregnant? Ben's eyes widened in surprised, his mind desperately trying to catch up with the words. "She's having a...?"

"...Child, yes," Blade replied, pale eyes watching Ben carefully. "Unfortunately, the power suppressants has most likely caused permanent damage to the baby, which is what you're supposed to fix."

"I see..."Ben nodded slowly, his mind still trying to fit together all the pieces of the puzzle. So Jordane was pregnant...well, that certainly explained why she was sick, while the other three had escaped any bad side effects from the drugs. "I'm not sure how much I can do, but...I'll do my best."

"Good. And Ben..." Ben looked up warily, something in the other's voice making him nervous. "If word of this gets out, I'll kill you, and Ryan, and whoever else finds out. Understood?"

Ben sighed and reluctantly followed Blade as he headed back to the motel. "Yeah...I understand."

***

"How are you doing?" Kyle looked up at the soft-spoken words, and smiled as he saw Ryan in the doorway.

"Well...my muscles hurt and my head feels like it's going to explode, but other than that...pretty fine," he replied with a wry smile, not moving to get up from the comfortable chair. Moving around too much wasn't exactly painless, and he wasn't very keen on adding to his discomfort. "Nothing a good night's sleep can't cure, anyway."

"And...?" Ryan trailed off, not sure how to put it.

"Mentally?" Kyle looked up, know what Ryan meant. "I'm...dealing. Even with the burning cars, it wasn't as bad as I'd feared. It was...the whole thing happened too fast to really focus on one thing," he finished quietly, mentally reliving what had happened. He paused, remembering a nagging suspicion he'd had all morning, then frowned. "You distracted me with your powers, didn't you?" he asked. "That's why I didn't really notice the fire."

"Yes, I did," Ryan admitted with a soft sigh. "I was afraid you'd get hurt if I didn't."

Kyle nodded slowly. He'd expected it, really, and since it was Ryan, he didn't mind. He trusted him to do what was best, and in this case, keeping him unaware of the fires had been the best option.

"You sure you'll be okay?" Ryan asked concerned, and Kyle smiled faintly.

"Yeah...I'll be fine," he said reassuringly. "When do we leave, anyway?"

"Tomorrow. I talked to Hal, and we decided that it would be best to give everyone a chance to get some rest first," Ryan replied and walked across the room to sit down next to Kyle.

Kyle nodded. "Sounds fine to me," he agreed, then frowned slightly. "Hal, you say? What about...?"

"Blade?" Ryan replied. "He's barely left Jordane since they got back. Hal's unofficially in charge."

Kyle frowned as he considered this new information. It would change things a bit, but for the better - Hal was a fairly good leader, and unlike Blade, she didn't have some personal vendetta against Ryan. "And what about Jordane?" he asked, suddenly realizing something. "Is she going to be well enough to travel tomorrow?"

Ryan sighed. "Honestly...I don't know. Nobody knows what's wrong with her, and how long it's going to take before she's well again."

Kyle looked up, his worry obvious. "And if she's not well enough to travel tomorrow? Then what?"

"Don't worry about that," someone said quietly, and the other two looked up, finding Ben standing in the doorway.

"Ben?" Ryan got up, concern for his friend clear in his voice as he got a closer look at the boy. Pale skin, eyes weary, his body leaning tiredly against the door... "Are you okay? What happened?"

Ben shook his head slowly and stepped inside the room, making his way to the bed with tired steps and carefully sat down. "I'm just tired...'s nothing."

Ryan frowned, his eyes never leaving Ben, subconsciously looking for any sign of what was wrong. "Did you heal Jordane?" he asked, realizing what had happened, and Ben nodded slowly, tiredly, not bothering to reply with words. "Did Blade...?"

Ben sighed. "No...I offered to help her. She's...she didn't look very well, so I figured that I'd help her," he replied, the lie already rehearsed. He had, for the briefest of moments, considered telling Ryan the truth, but decided again it - telling him wouldn't really do anything other than increase the tension between Ryan and Blade, and that was the last thing anyone needed. That, and he didn't want to put Ryan in danger, however small the risk might be.

Ryan didn't look convinced, but he didn't have the time to voice his doubts before Kyle took over, a hint of concern in his eyes, and not just for Ben. "What was wrong with her, then?"

"Poisoning." Another soft lie, and Ben felt a bit of guilt at lying to his friends, but forced it aside, telling himself that it was for their own good. He didn't want Ryan to feel guilty about this - it hadn't been his fault.

"And you're sure you're okay?"

Ben looked up, meeting Ryan's eyes, and nodded wearily, not quite able to shake off the feeling that Ryan suspected something. "Yeah...my head hurts, but I just need some sleep, that's all. I'll be fine."

Ryan smiled faintly. "Then go to sleep. We won't leave until tomorrow, anyway, and we need to be rested." Ben opened his mouth to object, mostly by principles, but Ryan cut him off. "No - you need it, Benji. Go get some sleep while you still can."

Ben nodded, unable to argue against it, and curled up on the bed, too tired to do much else than kick off his boots and pull the covers closer. His head hurt, a dull, constant pain that made it hard to focus, and his abdomen felt sore, each motion he made only serving to remind him of how much he'd had to drain himself to heal Jordane. He was tired, and miserable, and sore, and a small part of him had to wonder if it was really worth it, worth the pain he went through every time he used his powers. It made him sore and dizzy, and occasionally even sick himself, and...was it really worth it? 

He felt a hand brush his brow lightly, brushing away a strand of hair. "Sleep, Benji...you need it."

The voice was low, soothing and Ben relaxed, finally allowing the tiredness to catch up with him. He felt the bed shift as Ryan sat down, and he felt some of his weariness fade away, slowly being replaced by the blissful oblivion of sleep, and he sighed softly, readily welcoming unconsciousness. The last thing he remembered before falling sleep was the low murmur of voices as Ryan and Kyle talked quietly, and Ben smiled, the small gesture all but invisible.

Yeah...it had been worth it. 


	3. Dawn of Decisions

A/N 1: [insert very long, very boring definition of 'stuff', ranging from plotbunnies to flames] can be send to hack_heaven@usa.net. Yes, that's an e-mail address. No, I don't bite ^^

A/N 2: Yes, I'm done with the filler chapters now, and will get working on the last part of the fic. Promise. 

A/N 3: First of all - no, there will be no mpreg. Not a chance. Not unless I'm drunk and decide to write a parody, in which case I wouldn't be able to type, anyway ^^

Sabrin: Weeeell...define 'okay'...

Ageless: *amused* Of course they're perverted - did you really expect me to write a non-fucked-up pairing? *grins*

Alikat: *bows* Thank you :) And no - no pregnant!Ben ^^

Tiger5913: Diana's taking a break ^^ She should be back soon ;)

Racal: *grins* I don't know if I would call it 'just like that'. Physically, the child will be okay. Mentally? Who knows? *grins* And yes - poor Ben will feel like hell for the next couple of days. *amused* The poor thing exhausted himself. 

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Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy

***

Chapter Eighty-Four: Dawn of Decisions

***

A soft, sleepy sound reached his ears, and his head snapped up, pale eyes coming to rest of the girl in the bed. She moved slightly, and he got up from his chair, his tiredness and the long, restless hours forgotten, pushed aside by concern.

"Jordane?" His voice was low and worried, and the girl moved slightly again, slowly opening her eyes. For a moment she looked confused, not sure where she was, then her eyes fell on him, and she relaxed slightly.

"How are you feeling?" she blinked once at his question, sleep still clouding her mind as she slowly woke up.

"...My head hurts," she whispered, her voice still low and hoarse, but sounding less weak than yesterday.

"And other than that?" he continued, absently touching her brow, checking her temperature. 

She hesitated, a bit surprised at his question, her surprise only increasing as her head cleared up enough to comprehend the signals her body sent it. "I feel...better," she replied, and looked at him with faint confusion. "What...?"

"Ben helped you."

The explanation was deliberately brief, not giving away any more information than necessary was, but even with a constant headache to bother her, Jordane wasn't about to leave it at that.

"Just like that?" she whispered.

Blade smiled faintly. "I...had a talk with him."

Jordane nodded, understanding perfectly well what he meant. It didn't surprise her, and it didn't really bother her, either. If threatening Ben had been the easiest way to get him to cooperate, then so be it. She hesitated, unwilling to continue, then sent him an uncertain look. "How much did he do? I mean, is the..." she trailed off, unable to voice the last of the sentence. 

Blade nodded slowly. "It should be okay, yes. Ben did a pretty good job healing you."

Jordane fell silent as she considered his words, profound relief flooding her mind, washing away the bleak depression that had covered her mind in a heavy blanket. 

__

It's...thank God, she whispered silently, gratitude aimed towards a deity she hadn't spoken to since childhood, and her hand instinctively found her abdomen, lingering for a moment. It would be okay...

Meanwhile, Blade watched her silently, pale eyes resting on her, giving no hints to his emotions, and Jordane felt her relief fade away as she looked at him again. So far, he hadn't said anything about her situation, hadn't shown any signs of his feelings to what was going on - concern for her, yes, but other than that, he'd given no indication to his thoughts on the matter.

Jordane sighed softly and looked away. "I'm sorry," she whispered. 

She felt his hand touch her chin gently, turning her face towards him again. "Don't be. It's not your fault."

Jordane shook her head. "It was. I should've-"

Blade raised an eyebrow. "Should have what?" He sighed and stroked her hair, feeling her calm down a bit. "It wasn't your fault, Jordane. Don't forget that."

The girl curled up on the bed again, not really looking that convinced, but Blade didn't push the issues. She'd been through enough...he didn't want to make it any worse. It was silent for a long moment, then she finally moved, raising her head to look at him. "What are we going to do?" she asked quietly, real confusion in her words. 

"Leave the country like we planned from the beginning," Blade replied. "This place isn't safe."

Jordane paused. "And the...baby?" she whispered, oddly proud that she'd actually managed to say the word this time.

Blade paused for the briefest of second, then sighed. "We'll talk about that later. You need to rest, Jordane."

She frowned, her eyes meeting his, still unable to read any emotions from them. "Blade?"

A light touch against her brow, brushing away a lock of faded blue hair. "Later, Queen. You need to rest. We'll leave around noon...see if you can get a few more hours of sleep."

Jordane hugged the covers close, feeling the brief sense of relief leave her, replaced by worry once again. A small sigh, betraying her weariness, and she closed her eyes. _Later..._ Pushing her fear aside, she let herself relax, and at least for a few more hours retreated into the blissful oblivion of sleep.

***

The world was bleak, shadows creeping by the walls where he sat, gray grains of dust captured in the morning sun, contaminating the pale light, making it as dark and bleary as the rest of his surroundings. 

A small part of him whispered that what he was doing wasn't healthy, that he needed to move on, but he ignored it with the same ease as he'd done for the past week, guilt and loss and grief easily overpowering the small voice of logic that desperately tried to make itself heard.

He'd sought out solitude, looking to deal with his grief alone, and the others, busy as they were, had let him, hoping that a chance to think might make him able to cope with it. Diana had tried, once, to talk to him, but he'd dismissed her with a weak smile and an even weaker reassurance that he was okay. Ben had tried, too, but had been dismissed with the same weak smile as Diana had. 

"West?"

The boy looked up at the voice, only vaguely aware that he couldn't quite place it. A figure in the doorway - young, male, and West frowned slightly, trying to remember the other's name. Daryn? He wasn't sure. Everything had been...blurry, recently. 

"Yeah?" He was aware that his voice sounded tired, weary, but he ignored it. It didn't matter. Nothing did.

Daryn frowned slightly and stepped into the room, but didn't comment on the weariness in the other's voice, and West smiled faintly, silent gratitude in his eyes.

"I was wondering if...you could do me a favor," Daryn continued and sat down on the floor next to West, his voice hesitant. "It's not much, just..." he trailed off, and West sighed.

"Sure...what is it?"

"Your opinion." West looked up, confused, and Daryn continued. "I think Zahra's about to make a mistake in joining the Shadow Alliance, so I wanted to get someone else's view of things. The problem is that both of the teams are biased, so I don't really know what to make of anything, and...I was hoping that maybe you'd be able to give me a better view of this," he finished, the almost rambling nature of the question revealing the nervousness he felt at asking someone he didn't even know for help.

"My opinion," West repeated flatly, and Daryn nodded, the gesture drawing a small, bitter smile from the other. "Well, it's a little late for unbiased opinions."

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Prue.

Daryn tensed, silently cursing himself not remembering it in time. He tried to form an apology, something that wouldn't sound too ignorant, but was interrupted by West before he could think of something.

"Do you still want to 'hear my opinion'?" he bit out, anger and bitterness tainting the words, and Daryn really couldn't blame him. 

A moment of silence passed, then Daryn nodded. "Yes, I do," he replied, a bit surprised to find that he really did want to.

Another small, bitter smile, joining with something that Daryn couldn't quite put his finger on - anger? Grief? - the gesture making the boy seem far older than he really was. "All right - my opinion is that Zahra is making a mistake. My opinion is that her new so-called teammates couldn't care less about her, and my opinion is that she's going to get herself killed within a month. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Daryn sighed. He hadn't really deserved the biting reply, but he couldn't blame West, not after what had happened to Prue. "I wasn't looking for a particular reply, just...your opinion."

For a moment it was silent as West considered his words, then he leaned back against the wall again with a weary motion. "Sorry. I shouldn't have..." he trailed off and shook his head briefly to clear his mind. "My opinion? My opinion is that Zahra is making a mistake. She's not...she doesn't know what she's getting into."

Daryn waited for a moment for the other to continue, then frowned as West remained silent. "What do you mean?" he asked, hoping to get the other to keep talking. 

"They don't care," West replied and shook his head slightly. "They're not..."he paused, looking for the right words. "You've seen how Jhonen acts...he's going nuts, and no one is doing anything to help him."

Daryn nodded, knowing very well what West was talking about - he hadn't known Jhonen before this whole mess, but even he could see that something was wrong. The boy had acted downright strange recently, there was no denying that.

"And Prue...she was...she'd never hurt them, but they killed her, just to make a point," West continued, bitterness and grief and suppressed anger returning to his voice. "Zahra's going to get herself killed, or even worse, end up like them. It's just a matter of time."

West trailed off, and once more silence filled the room as Daryn considered his words.

"Zahra...seems to get along with them," he finally said, his doubts obvious. West had some very valid points, he knew that, but...Zahra seemed to get well along with Hal. And...she deserved to be happy, didn't she?

"She doesn't know them," West snapped.

__

Do either of us? Daryn asked silently. He agreed with West - the Shadow Alliance weren't exactly the good guys, and yes, they had killed people. But Blade and Nike had been behind that, not Hal and the others. And right now, Hal was unofficially in charge. 

He shifted slightly, starting to get uncomfortable with the heavy silence, but was rescued by the sound of footsteps approaching. 

"Daryn?" 

Zahra stopped in the doorway, dark eyes resting on her friend, a brief, vague look of curiosity as she noticed West. "We'll leave around noon - just thought you'd want to know." She paused, then frowned slightly. "Are you okay?"

Daryn nodded, forcing himself to push aside the troubling thoughts. "Yeah...just tired."

Zahra smiled faintly, and her usually so hard features lit up a bit at the small gesture. "Then get some sleep. I'll kick you out of bed in a few hours."

Daryn smiled wryly in return, and got up, exchanging a brief look with West. The other had been right - the Shadow Alliance wasn't exactly the safest of places, and he wouldn't even be there to help Zahra if it came to that. But still...

__

She deserves to be happy.

"Daryn?" Zahra raised a dark eyebrow questioningly, a hint of concern in the gesture, and Daryn smiled slightly. 

"I'm okay. Really," he replied, her concern for him warming, reassuring, unknowingly helping him make a decision that had troubled him for days now. He didn't agree with her choice, but this was her decision, and he didn't have any rights to tell her what to do. 

She was a good friend...she deserved happiness. And he would do whatever it took to give it to her.

***


	4. Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

"And then they all left the country and settled down in a safe place and lived happily ever after and had lots of little mutie kiddies, the end."

...Yes, I'm joking.

A/N 1: [insert very long, very boring definition of 'stuff', ranging from plotbunnies to flames] can be send to hack_heaven@usa.net. Yes, that's an e-mail address. No, I don't bite ^^

A/N 2: *tilts head* A handful of chapters, a couple of interludes, and the epilogues left - you can survive for that long, can't you? *wry smile* Now I just hope that *I* can. 

__

Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy

***

Chapter Eighty-Five: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

***

The sun was unpleasantly hot, the stinging rays blinding their eyes and burning exposed skin as they got ready to leave. The air was heavy, uncomfortable, not at all helping on the already tense atmosphere, and the heat only added to their tiredness. 

Aaron dropped the last of the bags in the trunk of one of their newly - and rather illegally - acquired cars, then brushed a lock of damp, blond hair away from his eyes. Even though he was noticeably less affected by the heat than the others were, it was still getting to him. He might be part snake, but he was still enough human to find this kind of environment unpleasant, especially compared to the climate he'd been used to in New York. 

His tongue swiped out, tasting the dry air, and caught the hint of a familiar scent. Turning his head slightly, he found Pheonix leaning against one of the walls of the motel, partially hidden in soothing cool of a shadow. More than any of them, she suffered in the dry climate - her dark skin protected her from the sun, but just as her mutation granted her control of water, it also gave the water a certain control of her, draining her strength as their surroundings got increasingly dry. 

"Are you okay?" Aaron asked and headed over to her, feeling a bit of relief as he reached the shadow of the wall.

Pheonix nodded slightly and toyed absently with the sunglasses in her hand. "Yeah...I just needed some fresh air."

Aaron tilted his head slightly as he watched her, blue eyes taking in what he saw, her skin, usually a deep, dark brown now looking almost unhealthy, her face revealing the same thing, her dark blue eyes betraying her tiredness.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Aaron repeated and reached a scaled hand out to touch her arm, frowning slightly as he felt how warm she was, even when out of the sun.

Pheonix sighed, too tired to snap at him for asking again. "I'm okay...it's just too dry around here. It'll get better when we get out of this hellhole." 

Aaron nodded slowly in reply, not really feeling like pushing his luck when it came to his rather temperamental teammate, and an uncomfortable silence followed, neither quite sure what to say. 

Finally Pheonix sighed and sat down on the dry grass, leaning her head against the wall with a tired motion. "We're fucked, aren't we?"

It wasn't really a question, but Aaron answered anyway. "It's only 300 miles or so. We can handle that." His tongue swiped out once again, drawing out the 's'-sounds, and he made a distasteful face as he tasted the dusty air. "And hopefully, we'll continue to somewhere less dry."

"'Only 300 miles or so'," Pheonix repeated, biting out each word. "Yeah, but it's 300 miles where every person we meet have seen us on TV or those damn flyers they've put up. We're dead before we even get out of town."

"Not necessarily." Aaron's words were soft, a sharp contrast to Pheonix' angry words. He was used to her temper and her attitude, and he never really let it get to him. Working himself up over something like that was...useless. A waste of perfectly good energy. "If we don't stop anywhere around other people, we should be able to get out of here with a little luck." 

And they would, wouldn't they? Because although their pictures had been on TV, the flyers around town were badly printed, making it hard to recognize any details. With a little luck, it could work.

"It's going to take more than 'a little luck' to get us out of here," Pheonix snapped, her tiredness forgotten. "Not even Cretes and Sanderson think we'll get out of this alive."

"They said that?" Aaron asked with a frown. It didn't sound like them - from what he'd seen, they had remained optimistic, despite of all they'd been through. 

"They didn't have to," Pheonix said disgusted. "Haven't you seen how they act? They were even the ones who suggested that we should plan what to do in case we got caught."

"They're in charge of their team - they're supposed to plan ahead," Aaron disagreed. "That doesn't mean they think we're going to die or something...it's their job to expect the worst." And really, those two had, as far as Aaron could tell, always been too optimistic to suddenly start to get visions of doom. They were supposed to plan for the worst case scenario and hope that they never had to use those plans. All leaders did that.

"Whatever." Pheonix wrapped her arms around her legs and pointedly ignored Aaron, a sure sign that she didn't want to discuss it further. Aaron, being Aaron, just as pointedly ignored her bad mood. 

"What's really bothering you?" he asked, and Pheonix glared at him. 

"Nothing," she snapped, and even without the biting tone in her voice, Aaron would have known it was a lie. He *was* part snake, and the long, thin reptilian tongue wasn't just for show.

"You sure?" he asked, although it wasn't really a question as much as a way to tell her that he knew very well she was lying. "You don't smell right."

Pheonix looked up, dark eyes narrowing suspiciously. "What...?"

Aaron shrugged casually, the heat starting to make him sleepy like it had so often before. "You don't smell right," he repeated, his tongue swiping out for emphasis. "You used to smell one way, but now you smell..." he trailed off and shook his head. "I don't know."

Pheonix sighed again, feeling the exhaustion catch up with her once more, quickly draining her anger. "Just leave me alone. Find someone else to annoy."

Doing what she said would undoubtedly have been the best course of action, but she was also his teammate, and Aaron didn't like to see her like this.

"Sorry, can't do that," he replied with a shrug. "I'm staying here until you tell me what's wrong, you might as well accept that."

Pheonix looked up, anger returning to her eyes as she glared at him. 

"I miss Lae, all right?!" she snapped. "I miss her! Now leave me the fuck alone!"

She curled up against the wall again, seething with quiet anger, and Aaron fell silent.

He could understand that Pheonix missed Laetitia - it had been no secret that the younger girl had seen the Greek mercenary as an older sister - and he had to admit that a part of him missed her, too. Different as they were, he'd never been close to her, but he'd respected the woman for her skills. And more than anything, those skills were what he missed now. It might be cold of him to think like that, but it was the truth, and Aaron had never cared much for lying. Too much of an effort, really.

But he missed Laetitia now, and a part of him couldn't help but worry what would happen next. Without Nike, they'd lost one of their most skilled fighters. That in itself was bad in a situation like this, but with the added situation with Jordane, things had gotten a whole lot worse. Jordane wouldn't be able to fight, Aaron knew that, and with her current condition, Blade's attention would be on her, and not on the team. 

Aaron wasn't stupid, far from. Normally, he might have docile and almost lazy attitude of the creature he resembled so much, but that didn't mean he wasn't aware of his surroundings. Yes, Hal was a good leader, and yes, Zach was good fighter, but the truth was that it had been Blade and Nike who had kept the team safe. Granted, they had gotten them into some fairly dangerous situations more than once, but they had also been the ones who had kept a hand over the others and made sure that nothing serious happened. 

Without them, things didn't look good.

Beside him, Pheonix sighed tiredly, and Aaron sent her a brief look, before looking into the distance. "I miss her, too," he admitted quietly, feeling almost uncomfortable with breaking the silence. "She was a good teammate."

"You don't miss her, you miss her powers," Pheonix snapped and glared at him.

Aaron looked at her, his surprise obvious, and the other snorted. "I might look like some dumb ghetto slut, but I'm not stupid. Just because I went to a lousy school doesn't mean I'm an idiot."

"I didn't say you were stupid," Aaron corrected quietly. "I was just surprised."

"Why? It's the truth," she bit out. "You don't miss her, you miss her powers. If she'd had some useless power, you wouldn't have cared."

"I would," Aaron disagreed, feeling the first bit of annoyance at her accusations. "I didn't know her very well, but she was still my teammate, and that means I cared about her. Yes, I miss her powers because we could use them now, but I also miss her as a person and my friend." 

Pheonix fell silent again for a moment, and when she spoke again, the anger was gone. "So I was right."

"About missing her powers?" Aaron asked. "Yeah." 

Pheonix smiled wryly, a hint of bitterness shining through. "Not just about that. About us being in trouble. You just admitted that."

"I didn't say that - I just said that we could-"

"But that's what you meant." Pheonix looked at him, dark eyes serious, and Aaron fell silent. "You know it's true - Lae is gone and Blade doesn't care about anyone but Jordane. We're fucked."

Aaron could recognize his own thoughts in her words, but he wasn't about to allow her to sink into depression - their situation wasn't as hopeless as she made it sound. 

"We're not complete lost," he corrected. "Hal's a pretty good leader, and Kyle and Ryan have some useful powers. We're not helpless."

"Hal lacks the practice, and Sanderson and Cretes won't use their powers unless some actually starts to shoot at us or something," Pheonix bit back. "We're fucked. It's that simple. I can't use my powers very well here, Zach still has a headache, and the Guardians can't fight for shit. We'll need a miracle to get out." 

"Maybe we'll get one, then," Aaron replied quietly.

Pheonix snorted. "You're being stupid now. God doesn't care about mutants. Nobody does."

Aaron sighed but didn't reply. There wasn't much he could say to her statement - he wanted to believe that someone out there cared, but it wasn't hard to understand how she felt. He'd felt the hatred towards their kind on his own body more than once...understanding her bitterness was all too easy.

The uncomfortable silence was interrupted by the soft sound of footsteps in dry grass, and the two looked up and found Hal making her way to them, white skin glistening faintly from the large amounts of sunscreen she was forced to use.

"You two all packed?" she asked, looking briefly at the cars before turning her attention to them again.

Aaron nodded. "Yeah - I just put the last of our stuff in the trunk."

Hal smiled, but it was a pale smile, lacking its usually warmth. "Good. We're leaving."

***


	5. Memento Mori, part I

*tilts head* First part of the last chapter. Now I just need to write the epilogues, and the pseudo-chapter leading up to them. 

A/N 1: Rascal: *amused* Come on - would I really pull a stunt like that? Journey deserves a real ending, and one that suits the fic. And "they lived happily ever after" is just too...cliché *smirk* Not to mention seriously out of character ^^ 

Maxwell Dark: *grins* Hal? She could probably make an excellent leader, yeah. *amused* Unfortunately, the SA can't have two leaders, and Blade isn't about to let her take control. 

A/N 2: **Memento Mori:** _\Me*men"to mo"ri\ [L.]_ Lit., remember to die, i.e., that you must die; a warning to be prepared for death; an object, as a death's-head or a personal ornament, usually emblematic, used as a reminder of death.

__

Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy

***

Chapter Eighty-Six: Memento Mori, part I

***

The atmosphere was tense, the cars almost humming with suppressed anxiety, making the drive all the more uncomfortable for the two groups. And to Ryan and Diana, the tenseness was even worse - when being this close to the others, it was impossible to block out the emotion no matter how much they tried, every little change in the heavy atmosphere hammering against their minds. 

Ryan's hands tightened around the steering wheel as another wave of fear hit him hard, making his mind spin. He wasn't sure whom the emotion came from, and he didn't dare to find out. Focusing on it would only make it feel that much stronger, and he didn't want to deal with that. Concentrating solely on the road made it a bit earlier to handle - by focusing on something else, he could push aside the emotions a bit and keep the headache down. Not much, but still it helped. That, and the small bit of relief that still lingered in the back of his head. 

He wasn't sure how it had happened, but they had made it safely out of town. Sure, there had been a couple of close calls with police cars passing suspiciously close to them, but the cops had left again, apparently on their way to someplace else. It had been enough to kick his nervousness up a notch, but somehow, one way or another, they had still managed to get out of town safely. Ryan wasn't sure how, but it didn't really matter - they were clear of the densely populated areas, that was all that matters. Questioning a miracle would be insane.

A flicker of a motion in the rearview mirror caught his attention, and his gaze lingered on Diana for a moment as she moved restless in her seat, her eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. 

"This is too easy," she mumbled and shook her head slightly "Something's wrong."

Beside her West shifted uneasily, clearly thinking the same thing, and Ryan turned his head to send them a brief look. "Of course not. This isn't a movie - we're allowed to be lucky without having it turn into a trap."

West and Diana didn't look completely convinced, and quite frankly, Ryan felt the same way. Things had gone too smoothly...they were overdue for a bit of bad luck.

Only Jhonen seemed unaffected by the brief conversation, his attention still focused on the horizon as he watched the landscape with an almost absent look on his face. Being in a hurry as they were, Ryan hadn't yet had the time to talk to the boy, and he regretted that now - it was becoming increasingly hard to tell what was going on in Jhonen's head, and Ryan didn't doubt that Laetitia was partly to blame for that.

"Ryan..." Diana's warning interrupted his train of thought, and Ryan looked in the rearview mirror again, immediately realizing what Diana had seen. Two military cars behind them, although neither of them seemed to be in a hurry.

"How long have they been there?" he asked, his eyes resting on the road again.

"They just showed up...I'm not sure if they're following us."

Ryan frowned slightly. Normally, he would have tried to reach out and take a look at their minds, but in this case, the tension efficiently kept him from doing that, leaving him to rely on his instincts alone. "I doubt they're following us...we're near the border, it's natural for them to be here."

"Still..." Diana trailed off, not entirely convinced, and then frowned as she realized something. "Wait...they're leaving."

"What?" Ryan looked up in the small mirror again, his eyes coming to rest on the two cars that were, in fact, rapidly disappearing from sight.

"They turned," Daryn added, twisting around to get a better look, a hint of relief in his voice. "Headed down one of the other roads."

__

Patrol cars, then, Ryan realized and nodded. "See? They're probably just patrolling the area. They weren't following us - we're fine."

Yes...it made sense. This was the border - patrols were not unusual here. And the two cars had already disappeared from sight again. It had just been a patrol, nothing else. They were perfectly safe for the time being.

__

Then why do you keep looking over your shoulder?

***

Not very far away, in one of the other cars, Deirdre shifted restlessly, her eyes fixed on the horizon as Ben followed the road leading to the border. Long hours in cars had never appealed to her- it was, quite frankly, boring beyond belief, and even in their present situation she still couldn't help but feel restless. Maybe it was the tension - nobody had said it out loud, but they all knew that it was just a matter of time before something happened. Their good luck couldn't last forever, and the drawn-out silence before the storm was starting to get to her.

"You see anything?"

Deirdre turned around to look at Hal, but found that the question had been directed at Zach, who was watching the road behind them with a frown. At Hal's voice he shook his head, then reluctantly looked away. 

"Nah...I thought I saw someone follow us, but it was just patrol cars," he replied and looked back again briefly. "It's nothing."

He looked up, noticing Deirdre's eyes on him, and sent the girl a questioning look. Almost embarrassed to have been caught watching him, Deirdre quickly turned around again, a faint blush touching her cheeks. 

She didn't really want to admit it, but she felt...kind of safe around Zach. Ryan would definitely disapprove of that, but still...Blitz *was* kind of cute. She blushed lightly again, and looked out the window again before Zach could comment on anything. And he wasn't a bad guy...he'd been sweet to her in the camps. Why couldn't he have been on her side, anyway? He was a cute guy - he shouldn't be with people like Nike and Blade.

There was a flicker of motion in the window, and Deirdre looked up, watching Hal's reflection. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the albino. She seemed sweet enough, and acted like a good leader...and Zach seemed to like her. Deirdre frowned slightly. In fact, he seemed to like her a lot. Now that she thought about it...he hadn't really left Hal's side since they escaped from the camps. They weren't together, she knew that much, but...maybe there *was* something between them? Or maybe they were just really good friends.

__

Yeah.

Deirdre nodded slowly to herself, happy with the conclusion, and pushed aside any further theories about Blitz and Hal. This wasn't the time for it, and she knew that. 

"How much further?" Zach asked, his voice sounding uneasy somehow, like he expected an attack any moment - and truthfully, he probably did. 

Hal shrugged and made a vague motion towards the map that lay neatly folded next to Ben's seat. "A few more minutes, I think. According to the map, we're almost there." She paused for a moment, her eyes lingering on her teammate. "Relax...we'll make it. We've been up against worse." Her words were light, but the confidence was forced, betraying her own worry.

__

Yes, but we were a full team, then, Zach wanted to reply, but didn't. Hal already knew this, Ben, too, probably, and Deirdre...some part of him was reluctant to make the girl worried. He wasn't sure why - they weren't even on the same team - but still...she was only around Aaron's age, and far more innocent than the people Zach was used to. He didn't want to make her anymore worried than she already was. 

"She's right," Ben added, but whether it was for Deirdre's benefit or his own, Zach wasn't sure. "We know what to expect, and with a little luck Ryan can get us through without too much trouble. As long as they're not too focused on us, we're clear. "

"And if Ryan screws up?" Zach asked before he could stop himself. He already knew what would happened then - they'd be as good as dead - and the comment had only been intended to take a stab at Ben's complete faith in Ryan, but a part of him immediately regretted that as he saw Deirdre send him a sharp look.

"Ryan knows what he's doing. He's gotten us through checkpoints before," she said, her voice challenging, and something in it made Zach glare at her. Just how naïve was she? Trust in your teammates was good, but Christ...Ryan's control wasn't perfect, Zach has felt that himself during the fight at the press conference. He'd damn near been knocked out by a mindbolt - that alone was enough to make him wary about trusting Ryan's powers to get them past the soldiers.

"This isn't a checkpoint. This is a heavily guarded border, and we're wanted fugitives. We're dead the moment someone recognized us," he snapped.

"But they won't," Hal interrupted, cutting into the argument before it could get any worse. "We haven't been stopped yet, and since we haven't seen any cars follow us, it's unlikely that someone has tailed us all the way from Houston. In that case, we would have seen something by now."

"Still..." Zach trailed off. "I don't like it. It's too easy." 

Hal sighed, and her expression told beyond any doubt that she felt the same way. "I know. But if we start to think like that, it *will* go wrong. Let's try not to think of the worst case scenarios and focus on the present instead."

__

Focus on the present, and be ready to fight when this whole thing does blow up, she didn't add. She was supposed to be a leader, and leaders weren't supposed to think like that. She should at least pretend that she had faith in Ryan's abilities...she owed him that much. And maybe - maybe he *could* pull it off.

And if not...then they'd just have to fight their way through. It wouldn't be easy, but it was possible. They'd tried it before, when-

__

-When Laetitia was still here. Shit. 

They were all used to fighting, but that had been as a whole team. They'd tried to fight without Nike and Blade and Jordane before, when the three had been on a job, and Hal was painfully aware of just how weakened the team had been without them. Losing Laetitia had also meant losing one of their best fighters, and they would need everything if this went wrong.

"Hal..." Ben's voice was low and suddenly tense, and Hal looked up, vaguely surprised to see something ahead. She'd been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the change in the surroundings, and it took her a moment to realize where they were.

"It's the border," Deirdre said quietly, her voice echoing Hal's thoughts. "We're here."

***


	6. Memento Mori, part II

Last part of the last real chapter - I'll have the epilogues up soon, and perhaps a pseudo-chapter leading up to them. 

A/N 1: SilentPegasus: Sequel? No, no, no. Over my dead, decapitated body. *amused* I'll quit while I'm ahead, and while I still have some of my sanity left intact ^^

__

Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy

***

Chapter Eighty-Seven: Memento Mori, part II

***

__

Too many soldiers.

The thought appeared, unwanted, in Kyle's mind, nagging him and adding to the growing worry he felt. The car felt almost claustrophobic, and he was all too aware of how vulnerable they would be if something went wrong. 

__

But it won't. 

There were too many civilians around for the soldiers to just attack them - any fighting would leave a lot of casualties among the surrounding people, and hopefully that would be a risk the humans wouldn't take. And that helped a bit...at least this way, they would be likely to get a warning before everything blew up.

Suzuka was obviously thinking in the same lines, and her eyes slowly surveyed the area as Kyle pulled up to the rather long line waiting to cross the border, and stopped the car. 

"I don't like this," she mumbled and leaned back into her seat. "It's too easy."

In the backseat, Daryn shifted slightly, restlessly, and Zahra kept looking out the window, eyeing their surroundings as carefully as Suzuka had. Clearly, Kyle wasn't the only one who didn't like this at all. 

"Nothing's going to happen," Kyle replied, forcing himself to ignore his own nagging feeling of unease. "There are too many civilians around...they won't try anything, not here."

"She has a point..." Zahra added, almost reluctantly. "It *was* too easy. We haven't been stopped anywhere, we haven't been followed..."

"We're allowed to be lucky," Kyle replied, with a faint smile. "Relax. We'll get out of this."

__

Then why don't you believe that yourself?

***

"Sir?"

The captain looked up, just barely keeping his annoyance from showing. He wasn't going to use a rookie to vent on...it wasn't his fault they were in this situation, and seeing as the rookie and the other privates actually had to be outside, they undoubtedly felt a lot more uncomfortable than he himself did.

"What is it?" His voice was a calm as always, not letting his anger or his discomfort at the warm climate show.

"The patrol cars were right, sir. It's them," the boy reported, and the captain frowned. 

"All of them?" he asked, and Christ, maybe they could get out of this hellhole after all - they were only here to catch the muties. Elite forces had nothing to do in some backwater place like this. 

"Yes, sir."

Another nod, and he just barely kept the satisfaction from showing. "Good. Let's get to work."

***

Something was wrong.

He wasn't sure what, but *something* was nagging at the edge of his awareness, finely honed instincts warning him that something was most definitely not right.

But what? He frowned, pale eyes narrowing as he carefully surveyed their surroundings. Long lines of cars, people, noise, guards, the constant hum of engines, and- 

-There hadn't been this many soldiers when they'd arrived. 

A quick look around confirmed his dawning suspicions - the soldiers were slowly but steadily closing in on the cars, clearly trying not to be too obvious about it.

__

Shit.

"Blade?" Jordane looked at him, alarmed by his expression. "What's wrong?"

A quick check in the rearview mirror, and he cursed silently again as he saw that the line behind them had rapidly grown, all but blocking the road they came from. "They're surrounding us," he replied. "They know who we are."

"Surrounding us?" Pheonix repeated and looked around, dark eyes coming to rest on one of the soldiers. It took a moment for her to see what was going on, and for that brief moment she could almost delude herself into thinking that her leader was just being paranoid, and then several more soldiers appeared, all moving closer to the four cars.

"We have to warn the others," Aaron said with a frown, but Blade shook his head, his eyes resting on the car ahead. Kyle had turned the engine on again, and judging from the way he was looking over his shoulder, he was checking the amount of cars behind them, just like Blade had. 

"They already know."

"Blade..." The word was low, warning, and Jordane motioned towards one of the buildings where a military jeep had appeared. Another one appeared behind it, and it became clear that all attempts to keep the ambush hidden had just been abandoned. 

More soldiers followed, and it was obvious that if they wanted to get out, they had to act now. 

He had deliberately kept a certain distance between his own car and Kyle's, earlier experiences having taught him that getting trapped in a line like this was never a good idea, and he was grateful for that now. It wasn't much room to maneuver in, but it was enough.

A last check of the surroundings, and he turned the key, feeling the engine spring to life again.

***

Kyle's head snapped up, alerted by the sudden motion behind him, and saw Blade turn the car sharply, quickly maneuvering it out of the line, and it took his mind less than a second to react.

__

Ryan!

__

Go! The reply came instantly, the strain from keeping the many emotions at bay clear even to Kyle, and he reacted as fast as Ryan had, not missing a heartbeat as he quickly backed out of the line and turned the car, tires screeching from the strain. 

He was only vaguely aware of the two other cars doing the same thing, his attention solely on the area ahead of him. Some of the road was still clear, and he turned towards it, watching as the car ahead of him did the same. 

Five-hundred feet, four-hundred feet, three-hundred feet-

-And the car ahead turned abruptly, tires screeching, barely avoiding a collision with the two military vehicles that appeared on the road, efficiently blocking their exit. 

__

Damn!

A quick look around confirmed his fear - with the exception of the border itself, that *had* been the only way out for the cars. More jeeps appeared, soldiers as well, and Kyle looked around, frantically searching for some sort of cover, spotting the concrete building just seconds after Blade did. It wasn't big, but it was their best chance. 

He was aware of Ryan and Ben behind him, was aware of the jeeps and soldiers that followed closely after, and even through the chaos and confusion he felt, he was still aware of one thing - things did not look good.

Partially hidden by the building, he brought the car to a sharp stop close to Blade's, and heard the two other cars do the same thing as he quickly got out, followed by Suzuka, Zahra, and Daryn.

He could already hear the sound of shouting, of cars approaching, and knew they didn't have long to find a way out.

"Ryan!" The telepath looked up, brief relief in his eyes as he saw that Kyle was unhurt, then switched back to the leader he was supposed to be.

"We need a diversion. Something to distract them for long enough to get us past that border." A pause, then- "Zach?"

The boy shook his head and sighed, almost apologetic. "Can't. My head still hurts too much. Couldn't even blow up a lock."

"And it's limited how many of them I can knock unconscious," Ryan admitted. "'Dre..." The girl looked up at his words. "After I knock the closest ones out, blind as many of them as you can - that way, we might get past them before they can recover, and-"

"-They'll kill you before you get half-way," Blade snapped. "They're professionals, not the normal border patrols."

"And what do you suggest, then?" Ryan snapped back. "I don't see you come up with a better idea."

Blade sent him a dark glare, then turned to Hal. "Get them out of here," he ordered, motioning towards Zach and the others. "I'll create a distraction, you just get the hell out of here, now."

"Blade-" Hal tried, something in his voice making her frown, but he cut her off before she could start.

"No. Get them out of here, now. That's not a suggestion, that's an order."

She nodded, knowing better than to argue in a situation like this. "All right," she agreed. She looked briefly at Jordane, but the girl didn't move from Blade's side. Not that she had expected it, anyway - they were partners, and they rarely worked alone. 

Not needing to be told what to do, she moved to the other end of the building with the others, the part closest to the border, and looked at Blade, silently letting him know that they were ready. With a good enough distraction, they could make it...cross the border by foot, then steal a few cars on the others side. It would be impossible to get their cars through the lines that blocked the border, but stealing one afterwards would be easy.

"Blade..." Jordane looked at him, worry clear in her eyes, and he smiled faintly.

"Trust me, Queen."

She nodded, his words chasing away some of the worry she felt, and he let his eyes rest on her for a moment longer, then turned his attention to the chaos around them. Most of the civilian cars were blocked from sight by the building, but a few of them were still visible from where he stood. They weren't close, but with his aim, they didn't have to be. 

His gun snapped up and fired twice, bullets piercing the heavy afternoon heat, chasing their targets, and hit the fuel tanks within a heartbeat of each other.

The force from the two explosions shook the earth beneath their feet, two thick columns of smoke rising in their air, mixing with the dust and heat, and the roar of the blasts followed instantly, drowning out the scream, the shouts, the sound of cars speeding up, trying to get away.

Another gunshot, and a third car blew up, and Hal pushed aside her shock for long enough to check that the soldiers' complete attention was on Blade, and not her.

"Go!"

The word was all but drowned out as another car exploded, this one triggered by the fierce fires from the others, but it was all that was needed to get them moving, and get away before the humans would realize what had happened.

No far away, Kyle's eyes widened in fear as the flames and the smoke and the screaming brought back terrifying memories of his homes, flames licking the walls, the floor, the ceiling, leaving black scorch-marks behinds, thick smoke burning his throat, making his eyes burn, and-

"Kyle!"

Ryan's voice cut through the memories, snapping him back into the present. The telepath had more or less managed to hide his shock at Blade's actions and focused on getting his team safely out of there instead. He didn't agree with cold-blooded murder, but he couldn't stop the other, and this was the best diversion they'd get.

Kyle forced the fear aside the best he could and followed Ryan and the others away from the building, trying to look away from the fires, and still finding himself morbidly fascinated by them.

The feeling of a hand on his shoulder, and he somehow managed to look away from the burning wrecks of the cars and focus on Ryan instead, but just barely, his mind still numb from the shock.

Using the confusion as a cover, Blade and Jordane moved away from the building and took cover behind a large truck instead, deliberately picking a spot where they'd be able to keep an eye on the others.

"When they're clear of the border, tell me," Blade ordered, and Jordane nodded, her eyes already following her teammates through the chaos that surrounded them. She was only vaguely aware of another explosion, her attention completely on the others, trusting in Blade's skills to keep them both safe. For an endless moment time seemed to have stopped, then she saw Hal shoot away the lock of one of the closed gates, and then kick it open. 

"They're clear!"

Blade looked briefly at the border, then focused on their surroundings instead. He wasn't stupid - he knew the large truck had protected them from bullets so far, but it was only a matter of time before the soldiers turned their attention from the wounded humans to him and Jordane instead. When that happened, it would take more than just a truck to keep them safe. 

His eyes slowly surveyed the area, his eyes finally coming to rest on a fuel truck next to one of the nearby buildings, undoubtedly used by the military vehicles. It safe to assume that it was almost full, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he watched it. How large would the blast radius be? 

__

Big enough.

For a moment he didn't move, then raised his gun slowly, the chaos around him fading away as he concentrated on the weapon instead. His aim was flawless, long hours of training had seen to that, but still he took a moment to focus on the target, aiming carefully. For a moment he waited, listening for the sound of soldiers approaching, then heard the soft sound of a bullet striking the ground close to him. 

A faint, grim smile crossed his lips, and he pulled the trigger, feeling the sharp recoil from the gun.

Unlike the soldiers, he didn't miss. 

***


	7. Endgame

The epilogue and the final author's notes will be up soon as well. We edited the three epilogues a bit to combine them to one chapter and an epilogue - the characters insisted. 

A/N 1: The page with the ficlets has moved to sorciere.freeservers.com / journey / index.html (without the spaces), and will (hopefully) stay there. There'll be a couple of ficlets added within the next couple of days ^^

A/N 2: Rascal: *amused* We still have the epilogue to go. You'd be amazed at what I can manage to do with something like that ;)

__

Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy

***

Chapter Eighty-Eight: Endgame

***

The sound was deafening, followed by a scorching shock wave, burning through the heavy afternoon air, and Hal looked over her shoulder, half-afraid that this was a trap, a way to capture them this close to freedom, but-

-Smoke, flames, fire, a faint tremor below her feet, a dark mushroom cloud rising in the air, and this couldn't be a trap, she knew that, not something this big, not something that must have killed dozens of their own men, engulfed in flames- 

-And for a moment she was back in the mutant camps, watching the same dark cloud rise above them, wondering what had happened, never realizing that the funeral pyre had been Nike's, and-

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No!

The realization hit her hard, forcibly pulling to her back to reality. Blade and Jordane had been over there, in the burning rubble that had only minutes ago kept them safe from bullets. Nike had killed herself rather than let the humans take her down...Hal had no doubt that Blade would have done the same.

__

And Jordane?

Red eyes widened as Hal watched the inferno, fear for her friend all too visible. Jordane had been over there, too. If she'd been trapped in that explosion...

"Hal!" Zach's voice cut through the chaos, once again pulling her back to the real world. 

__

If Jordane got trapped in that explosion, there's nothing you can do, her mind whispered, and Hal reluctantly agreed, and let herself follow Zach, away from the flames and the smell of burning fuel.

__

Focus. Gotta focus. Need to get away - cars! 

Her head snapped up at the sight of the jeeps partially hidden behind a building, and she quickly surveyed the area, looking for a particular person.

"Ryan!"

The telepath reacted instantly, blue eyes finding red ones, and he said something to Kyle, then ran over to her. Hal was only vaguely awake that the others followed him, her sole attention on the jeeps as she quickly checked them.

"Will they work?" The was a hint of exhaustion in Ryan's voice that Hal recognized from herself, but it didn't matter - hopefully, in just a few minutes they'd be out of there, and safe, and-

"I think so," she breathed. "I think so."

The keys weren't there, but it didn't matter - combined, they had enough people who knew how to hotwire a car to have the jeeps running in no time, the urgent situation no doubt making them work even faster than normal. 

Hal looked up, eyes resting on the border, on the area around them, just waiting for soldiers she knew would arrive, the roar of engines, of guns, hungrily closing in on them and-

"Let's go!"

She didn't hesitate but got into one of the jeeps with Zach, still watching the border, waiting for the soldiers. It was a matter of minutes at the most, she knew that, but before she could finish the thought she saw a cloud of dust, barely visible among the heavy smoke, and several military vehicles appeared among the wreckage, forcing their way past the still-burning rubble among them.

__

Shit!

"Zach, let's go!" she snapped, the order coming naturally, instincts forcing their way past shock.

Zach reacted instantly, and Hal felt the machine jump to life beneath her as they sped away, a quick look in the rearview mirror making sure that the others were still with them. Her eyes returned to the newly appeared cars, expecting to hear the sound of gunfire any moment, but none came. She frowned, confused, then saw one of the military cars come to a sudden stop, the car behind it hammering into it as its driver failed to react in time. Hal kept watching, expecting more vehicles to show up, but none came. In fact, not even the people in the two collided cars had moved...

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Ryan.

He'd mindbolted them, that was the only explanation. 

__

Yes. The reply was soft, almost inaudible, and the mental voice made her look up and focus on Ryan. 

__

Thank you, she sighed, keeping her attention on Ryan, aware of how faint their mental link was. _Guess we owe you one._

__

No, you don't, Ryan replied, faint amusement in his words. _But Hal...we should talk._

She hesitated for a moment, then sighed. _Yeah...we should,_ she admitted. If nothing else, then for Zahra's sake, and give her the chance to talk to Daryn before they parted. But there was something else in his words...concern? Worry? She wasn't sure, but if it were, she couldn't blame him. Even *she* was worried about what lay ahead, and she was supposed to be in charge. 

__

Find somewhere to pull over - we'll follow you.

Hal nodded. _Got it,_ she replied, and looked over at Zach who had remained oblivious to the brief, mental conversation.

"Zach?" He looked up questioningly, and she continued. "When we're clear of this, find some place to stop. Preferably a place without any human company, okay?"

The boy nodded and Hal leaned back in the seat. Almost safe now.

Almost.

***

It was perhaps an hour later when Ryan and the others drove down a small, bumpy side road, following the small trail of dust that hung in the air from the two jeeps ahead of him. A quick check confirmed what Zach had assumed - they were the only people in the area, and having left the main road a while back, it was unlike that someone would just show up unexpected. 

They drove around a low hill, and there, on the other side, the others had stopped, safely out of view from anyone who might show up. 

"Ryan?" Ben asked questioningly, and his emotions conveyed what his voice didn't - wariness, suspicion, distrust, and-

"It's okay," Ryan replied, and he felt Ben's worry fade away a bit, settling as a low, persistent hum at the back of his head. "Just...park over there."

Ben nodded and complied, and when they got out, Ryan saw Hal and the others waiting by the jeeps, not moving to greet them.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Suzuka mumbled, and Ryan sighed. No, he couldn't blame them for being suspicious of the whole thing, but still...

"Yes, I am. Trust me, all right?"

A slow nod from Suzuka, still not looking entirely convinced, and Ryan crossed the short distance to the others, stopping a few feet from Hal. He was aware of Kyle and the others just behind him, but for the moment his attention was on the young albino, already evaluating what he saw. Because even if he wouldn't admit it, he was still concerned about the mutants in front of him. Yes, Hal had showed some real potential, but back then, Blade had still been in charge. One thing was being a leader when you knew that there would be someone there to prevent you from making too many mistakes. Another thing was handling that responsibility on your own.

It wasn't easy, Ryan knew that, and the question now was if Hal would be able to handle it - without Blade and Jordane, she would carry the whole responsibility, and that could very well be heavy enough to break her.

For a moment it was silent, as both tried to find something to say, but was interrupted as Daryn reached them, his features lighting up with tired relief as he saw a familiar figure. 

"Zahra!"

The girl smiled and accepted Daryn's embrace, secretly welcoming the sudden closeness as he held her, trying to make himself understand that she was okay, that she'd gotten out of there safely.

"You okay?" she asked quietly. There were no visible bruises on the boy, but still...

"Yeah...I'm fine," he said and let go of her again, then took a step back. 

Hal smiled faintly, relieved at the brief break in tension before she focused on Ryan again, asking the one question she was almost afraid to hear the answer to. 

"Can you...sense them?" She looked up, red eyes meeting deep blue, and Ryan sighed almost inaudibly. 

"No...I'm sorry," he said quietly. "They might be out of reach, but...I doubt it." 

He looked at Jhonen, silently asking him to use his powers as well, and the boy frowned for a moment as he focused. Silence reigned for an endless moment, then Jhonen sighed.

"They're gone," he said quietly, almost apologetically, and looked at the ground, fatigue clear in his every motion.

Hal nodded slowly, forcing her sudden feeling of loneliness away, focusing on the situation instead. So Blade and Jordane were gone...that meant she was in charge now, and that she was responsible for getting the others to safety. Her personal feelings would have to wait. She would grieve later...right now she had a responsibility to live up to.

"Thank you," she said, and Ryan nodded slightly in return.

Silence, then-

"What do you intend to do now?"

Hal looked up at the soft words, meeting Ryan's eyes again, and she felt a bit of determination return. Yes, she was in charge now, she would damn well live up to that responsibility. "We'll leave. Find some place to settle down, and then take things from there."

"And you're sure you can handle that?" Ryan asked, a frown crossing his face. She seemed determined, but still...determination wasn't always enough.

"Yes, we can, Cretes. I'm not a kid."

The words were almost biting, and Ryan smiled faintly at the reaction. They might have a chance of making it on their own, after all. From what he'd seen, Hal was a capable leader, and it sounded like she had the drive needed to handle the responsibility she now faced. All in all, they could have been a lot worse off.

"All right," he relented, dropping the argument. His eyes lingered on Hal for a moment longer before moving to Zahra, watching the girl carefully. "And what about you?"

"I'm staying with Hal." The reply came instantly, and even if Ryan had expected it, it was still a bit of a disappointment.

Daryn looked at her, and Zahra smiled faintly, almost apologetically. "Sorry. I just..."

"I know," Daryn replied, and the soft tone of his words left no doubts that he really *did* know and accepted it, even if he didn't like it. He didn't want to leave her, but he also knew that she'd never get along with his new team, and he would most definitely never get along with hers. This was, all things considered, the best option there was. 

"Just be careful, okay?" Quiet, whispered words, just loud enough for Zahra to hear, and she smiled again, this time with a hint of regret in the motion. "I will. You do the same, okay? I won't be there to bail you out next time."

"I know."

Their hands touched for a moment, fingers tangling, trying to keep the other's presence with them for just a few more moments. Another faint, regretful smile, and Zahra let go, returning to Hal's side. 

A dark hand touching Hal's pale one lightly, and Hal sent her a concerned look. "You okay?"

"I will be," Zahra whispered, barely audible, and Hal nodded. Zahra was right...she'd be okay, eventually. And Daryn was in good hands, and that would help a bit, too. Zahra would miss him, but it was better this way, they all knew that. Daryn was too innocent to survive with them - Ryan would be better for him.

She looked at Ryan for a long moment again, then turned to the others. "Let's go. We should get out of here before someone starts to get suspicious."

The others headed back to the jeeps, following Hal's lead, and for an endless moment Zach hesitated, his eyes lingering on Deirdre. She smiled faintly, the hint of a blush touching her cheeks, and Ryan saw a smile tug at the boy's lips. 

"Zach?" And then the moment was broken, and Hal raised an eyebrow questioningly. "You coming?"

A pause as another endless moment passed, then Zach nodded. "Sure." A last, brief look over his shoulder, and he'd disappeared into the jeeps with the others, the sound of engines breaking the silence. 

Ryan watched as the jeeps drove away, and for a moment he almost imagined he could feel Hal's mental presence again. Then the moment passed, and the jeeps disappeared from sight, leaving only a heavy silence behind.

"Ryan?" He turned his head and found Deirdre watching him, concern clear in her eyes. 

"They'll be okay. Hal can handle it," he replied quietly. For a moment he watched the thin column of dust that followed the jeeps, then nodded slowly to himself. She could handle it. She had to.

Almost regretfully, he pushed the thought of her away from his mind. Yes, Hal could handle herself - his main concern right now was his own team. One last look at the horizon, and he turned around to face the others. "Let's go."

***


	8. Epilogue: In Memoriam

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Italics indicates thoughts/telepathy

***

Epilogue: In Memoriam 

***

She watched, silent and unseen through Jhonen's eyes as they drove away, aware of Hal and Zahra near her, of the desert heat, the dust, the short, sharp sounds of rocks striking against the underside of the jeep.

A thoughtful tilt of her head, a hint of femininity in the gesture as she let her mind spread out, touching the landscape, using her newly acquired powers as a spirit to check for dangers. Her teammates could handle themselves, she was certain of that, but still she wasn't about to leave anything to chance. Too much rested on Jhonen to let him die now in the hands of the humans, and Laetitia was not without resources, not even now. 

Satisfied with the lack of people around them, she slowly retreated and allowed Jhonen to take over once more. 

__

Are you okay? The question was slow, hesitant, as Jhonen took a moment to get used to the switch, his attention never leaving Laetitia. 

__

Yes...I am, she murmured, the words soothing, meant more for his sake than for hers. _Death is not unpleasant, Jhonen...not when you can spend eternity with the one you love._

Soothing, calming, and Laetitia smiled faintly as Jhonen nodded in agreement with her words. 

So easy...so very easy. He was still innocent, still a romantic by heart, and she knew exactly how to play her role as devoted lover, adding the hint of sadness to her presence that she knew he would expect her to feel. He wanted to know that she loved him, and her answer had reassured him of that, even if she hadn't mentioned his name. 

A part of her was almost disgusted at his hopefulness, but she also knew that it was part of what had made it possible to get him so completely under her control. Like the romantic he was, he longed for a happy end, for some light in the sadness, and believing that his two lost teammates would spend eternity together in their own spirit realm, in a paradise like Laetitia's, was just what he needed to hear.

Innocence was so easily controlled. 

__

Are they...happy? Another soft, hesitant question, and Laetitia reached out to caress his cheek lightly.

__

Yes, she whispered, and he could almost feel the brush of her lips against his ear, almost believe that she was there, sitting next to him.

He nodded slowly and Laetitia smiled faintly again. He hadn't felt them, hadn't seen them, had no proof at all that Blade and Jordane really were dead, but still he had accepted her words, her claim that she'd seen them, and that he owed it to them to let them be and allow them to enjoy the afterlife without his interference. 

Love was far more powerful than logic, and Jhonen loved her. And maybe she should have felt guilty for using him, for deceiving him, but she didn't. Because just as love was more powerful than logic, trust was far more powerful than love. 

Love had no reason, no common sense - falling in love was easy, and declaring it even easier. Survival, betrayal, danger...it didn't mean anything to someone in love. Laetitia had seen love become the downfall of more than a few people, and knew better than to put love above all. Love came easy...trust did not.

And it all came down to trust, didn't it? 

Trust had always meant a lot to her - if you trusted someone, you quite literally put your life in their hands, and Laetitia herself had never had an easy time trusting people. There was always the risk that her trust would be misplaced, that she would give it to someone who would sell her out the moment she turned her back to them. Love was easy to declare without risk, but trust was never to be taken lightly, especially not in her line of work.

It all came down trust, and Blade had trusted her. Not just with his own life, but with Jordane's and their unborn child's as well. He had known that she could easily find out what had happened, and he had known that she could just as easily have told Jhonen. 

There had been no way for him to tell her to keep it a secret, no way to get in contact with her without going through Jhonen, and that would have given his intentions away and made the boy aware that something was wrong. Instead he had chosen to trust her, trust that old partnership and loyalties would mean more to her than the boy she had currently wrapped around her finger. 

He trusted her to keep their secret, and for his trust alone, she would do it. If nothing else, she owed them that.

The welcoming warmth from the sun above her beach mixed with the desert heat, and she felt Jhonen reach out towards her, almost hesitant. _Laetitia?_

She brushed his cheek with a finger again, gently, calming, her voice caressing his ears as she spoke. _I'm not leaving, Jhonen. I'll be here for as long as you want me to._

He smiled, relieved at her words, and she kissed him lightly with invisible ghost lips. _Keep an eye out for dangers, Jhonen. You're not safe yet._

He nodded, accepting the logic of her statement and reluctantly turned his attention from her and back to the real world and the dry, rocky landscape that surrounded them. She watched for a moment to make sure that he really did as he was told, then allowed herself to relax once more and return to the harbor of her spirit world. The sand appeared beneath her bare feet, warm and soft and inviting as always and she lay down in the shadow of a palm tree, streaks of sunlight seeping through the leaves, caressing golden skin and raven curls. 

It wasn't quite the same as being alive, but it wasn't a bad way to spend eternity. She could certainly think of far worse places than this.

She reached out, stretching her mind, shifting through lives and hopes and dreams, interweaving threads that all created the present, searching for two particular ones. A light brush against their presence, and she smiled faintly and watched as they left. She couldn't do anything to influence their reality, but still she'd watch, still be there somewhere at the edge of their awareness. 

Because at the end, it was all about trust. 

***

The faint vibrations below her feet mixed with the low rumble from the engine, creating a monotonous hum in cabin. She ignored it, used to the sound as she was, and focused on the drinks in front of her instead, quickly sorting through the bottles, then checked that the glasses were clean. Plastic cups were fine for economy class, but first class paid for the best, and expected to get just that.

One final check, and she pushed the curtain aside and headed into the cabin itself, smiling at the passengers, just like always. Most of them were businessmen, jackets packed away and ties loosened to let them relax during the long flight. They usually asked for coffee, and then bourbon or scotch later on, she knew. A couple of pre-school kids as well, probably on a trip with their parents, and she made a mental note to have a coloring book sent out to them to keep them from getting bored. A young couple, and a few casually dressed people...all in all, the usual types. 

She made her way through the cabin, stopping at each row and smiled as she offered them a glass of champagne, her mind quickly pinning faces to the names she'd checked beforehand. For the price they paid, they expected the cabin crew to recognize them and treat them with a bit more respect than the people who only paid for economy class, and calling them by their names was a big part of that. 

She reached the young couple, quickly taking in their appearance, their looks, and smiled at the younger of the two, the girl who was idly flipping through a magazine. 

"Miss Kelly...would you like a glass of champagne?" she asked. The girl didn't look old enough to drink, but according to the flight information she was an adult, and so be it. No reason to argue about something like that. 

The girl looked up from the magazine in her lap, looking almost surprised at the question, but before she could answer, her companion reached out and placed his hand lightly on hers. "No. No alcohol for her."

The girl looked down for a moment. "Sorry. I forgot," she mumbled, and her free hand lingering for a moment on her abdomen before she looked up. "Could I....?"

__

Ah.

"Juice? Soda? Water?" the stewardess offered with a smile, and the girl nodded slowly.

"Soda. Soda sounds good."

She smiled and found a soda for the girl, then turned to her companion. "Champagne, sir?" she asked, and the man shook his head. 

"Scotch," he replied, pale eyes resting on the stewardess for a moment, and she smiled, quickly finding the bottle in question, only vaguely amused that she knew these types of passengers so well.

"Here you go, sir," she said and handed him the glass, then continued to the next row, her mind having already moved on to the next passengers. A quick look across the cabin, and she noticed with a soft sigh that the two young children were already starting to get restless. When she got back to the galley she'd have to find some candy for them, and a couple of the coloring book they had for cases like this. 

A quick check on her watch told her that it was just short of 1 p.m., Tokyo-time, and that they would land in another eight hours or so. 

Another quick look at the two children. Would candy and crayons be enough to keep them from getting bored? A faint, wry smile, gone before any of the passengers could notice.

__

Well, I certainly hope so.

*** 


	9. Author's Notes

1 year and 3 months. 

1 year and 3 months. 550+ pages. 220.000 words. 89 chapters, 18 interludes, and 3 vignettes.

That's how long you've stuck with me. *amused* Not too bad for a fic that was just supposed to be a small story on the side to cure my writer's block.

A lot of the credit for this goes to Ageless, though. She's the one who stopped me from fucking up too badly, and she was the one who made me continue when I only wanted to hit 'delete' and forget about the damn thing. *hugs* Thank you. Din støtte har betydet mere end du tror, babe. 

Thank you to the character creators, too, for letting me play with their creations like this ^^ I'm pretty sure that a lot of them didn't turn out like they were supposed to, but really...it's all the characters' fault. *nods* They made me do it. 

And thank you to the reviewers for your comments, suggestions, praise, and feedback. Those comments have inspired the plot and various characterizations more than once, and made it much more interesting. Knowing that someone reads their stories means a lot to a writer - thank you for not giving up on me, even if the story became kind of long.

To any MiSTies out there: you have my full permission to wreck havoc on this (God knows that if you made it through all of this, you damn well deserve it). Give Mike and the 'Bots hell from me, mail me a copy, and keep circulating the tapes. 

Now, on the topic of a sequel...no. Fun as this has been, I won't do a sequel, for several reasons. First of all I like it as it is now. Secondly, I care about these characters, and prefer to stop the fic before I grow tired of them. So let's leave it here, and call it...well, let's avoid 'The End', shall we? Their lives go on, even if we're not there to pen it down. 

The epilogue is left open, and I intended to let it be that way. The fic can go anywhere from here, and that's how I prefer it to be. I have one idea of how this should end, but who says it's the same as yours? Happy end, cynical reality...it's all up to you, the reader. 

In any case...make your choice. Exercise your imagination. But most importantly - have fun.

I did.

~ Sorcieré


End file.
